Plight
by NineStoicCrayolas
Summary: Sakura left. Orochimaru instigated chaos. [(really) sporadic updates]
1. Chapter 1

Green eyes glittered dangerously as Orochimaru tittered at the door. Hands smoothed away the flyaway hairs and her head tilted towards her master.

Those golden eyes, the ones so many were enchanted with, gleamed with well-concealed mirth. A gaping mouth widened and a snake summon slipped in, curling at the base of his throat. After a moment, he walked forward, coming to rest a centimeter away from the chair Sakura sat on.

"Your little friends are looking for you again, Sakura-chan." Another chuckle broke the stillness of the room and Sakura narrowed her eyes, "They are surprisingly persistent."

She nodded, letting the waist-length locks slip over her shoulder and spring back into its usual mass of pink curls. A cold hand came down on her shoulder and she repressed the urge to gut her master. Her fingers twitched anyways and Orochimaru chuckled into her ear, the air brushing against her exposed neck.

"Well? No reaction? So different from that passionate girl I met in the Forest of Death…" Cool fingers brushed over her neck and Sakura sat very still, staring at the stones in front of her, not breathing. "It's almost…disappointing."

"That girl died." Sakura said almost quickly but she catches herself in time to monotone her voice. She must not show weakness—if Orochimaru hated anything more than impoliteness, it was weakness—her death would be quick if she let it show.

"Yes she did." Nails dragged over her neck and Sakura shivered. It did not go unnoticed and if anything, the pressure of the nails against her skin strengthened.

Sakura stared harder at the stones in front of her and her face became blank, ears tilted to listen.

 _One brick, two brick, three brick…_

"Well, my sweet, do you want to say hello?" Orochimaru offered and Sakura tensed against the onslaught of memories.

The brush of Sasuke's kunai-roughened hands and that sad smile.

Naruto's blonde hair and bright eyes.

Kakashi's crinkled dark eye and fierce demeanor.

 _Four brick, five brick, six brick…_

But she knew this was a trick. Her master never offered anything except if it benefitted him and Sakura knew this. Green eyes swung back to golden ones and narrowed imperceptibly. An already tightened mouth pursed further.

"…What do you want Orochimaru?" She asked, measured, and controlled— nothing alluding to the panic surfacing in her breast.

Orochimaru cooed and ran a cold hand over her curls. Fingers brushed wayward frizz from her eyes and Sakura continued staring at the bricks. They were smoothed over with sand, she knew, so that the experiments would not get any ideas and drag them out to escape.

"My sweet child, why would you ever think that? Everything I have ever done is for you…" His voice trailed off and Sakura knew the implications of his words.

 _Everything I have ever done is for you to submit to me._

Kakashi's harsh yet strangely sweet scolding.

Sasuke yelling at the sky.

Naruto smiling up at her from a bowl of ramen.

 _One brick, two brick, three brick…_

"What do you say, my lovely?" Orochimaru ran his fingers through her curls again and this time Sakura leaned into him.

 _Four brick, five brick, six brick…_

His fingers stopped for a millisecond and then a pleased sound erupted from his throat. Black hair slid onto her shoulders and Sakura waited for his tongue to wash over her curse mark. His tongue was warm and wet and reminded Sakura of dead things. The curse mark lit up once again and Sakura groaned with the force of the pain slithering into her body.

 _One brick, two brick, three brick…_

"Good girl, good girl." Orochimaru tittered into her ear. Another pat to the head and Sakura knew that she had passed her test.

"If you want me to see them, I will." She stood up, eyes finally falling away from the dusty-bricks of her wall to face the golden orbs she so despised. "If not, then I will not."

Sakura got down on her knees, lowering her head so her neck was bared. "I am yours."

Another cackle came out of her master's mouth and Sakura wanted so badly to plunge her fist straight into his gut and reach up, up, up to his heart.

"Let them see who—what you have become."

His steps drifted towards the door and Sakura refused to get up, her pink curls shading her vision.

"Let them see and _let them despair._ "


	2. Chapter 2

Sasuke knew, logically, that he should not get his hopes up as they approached the nearest town to Orochimaru's base. He knew that there was little (almost _no_ ) chance for them to see her.

Despite Naruto's constant bubbly babbling and hopeful smiles, Sasuke had a feeling of foreboding. As his feet took him faster and faster, his frown deepened.

What would she be like, three years down the road?

 _Not that you'll find out._

Would she still smile at him?

 _She won't be there, obviously._

Would she still giggle at Naruto's attempts to get her to go on a date?

 _She won't be there, stupid._

Would she still look the same—with those warm, warm green eyes and pretty smile and gorgeous curled locks?

 _You'll never be able to catch her. She's gone, like wind, dust. And she isn't coming back until we drag her home._

At Yamato's signal to stop, Sasuke looked over to their new teammate.

Dark eyes, so similar to his own, looked back at him. Lips that were thin and chapped curled into a false smile, (reminding him all too much of – _no_ he couldn't go there). Sai's hands were slim and curved around one of his paintbrushes as Sasuke stared at him.

The boy put him on edge—those dark eyes, the way that his smile was so _obviously_ fake, how he cocked his head in interest every time Naruto spoke of Sakura, the way his face would sometimes deaden—it reminded him that he would probably never know what the boy was plotting.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes as Sai moved closer, hopping off the branch to come closer to him.

Just what was he planning to—

"Broody, are you staring because you want to commence romantic a relationship? I have read that if someone gazes into another's eyes for longer than a minute, it means that—"

Sasuke, red eyed and flushing with embarrassment shoved Sai away and growled at a guffawing Naruto.

"Shut up dobe." He spit out, ignoring Naruto's choked words of 'Teme, h-he called you B-Broody!' and his sniggering about 'romantic relationships'.

"Is there something wrong, Broody?" Sai asked, cocking his head and moving closer to him. Sasuke edged away slowly, remembering all too well the crazed kunoichi fangirls of his youth. "I'm happy to inform you, I have no sexual preference if that is what you were worried about."

Sasuke turned a furious red, stalked all the way to the other side of the clearing, and sat down next to a grin-smothering Yamato.

"O-Oh my _Kami!_ Teme-chan, ahah—"

"Shut up."

"W-wait n-no, B-Broody—"

"Shut. Up."

"N-no s-sexual preference—"

"Shut up dobe!"

Sai just watched them curiously and turned to Yamato, "Is this what sexual tension is?"

The resounding screams of horror and growls of promised murder scared off any promise of Yamato having any sort of rest.


	3. Chapter 3

Dark eyes roved over her body and Sakura stared at the cracked ceiling. The last time she had counted, there were three cracks, but now, just under the shade of the bare lightbulb hanging in the middle of the room, there was a fourth, jutting all the way until the beginning of the wall.

It reminded Sakura of Kakashi and Sasuke's chidori.

"Sakura-chan, are you paying attention to me?" Kabuto asked, dragging her out of her bored thoughts.

Sakura's eyes turned onto gray ones and her fingers twitched.

"Yes."

"…Good. Now, tell me again, what are we doing here?" Kabuto drilled once more, brushing a glowing hand across Sakura's ripped chest.

The blood was beginning to drip down her sides and Sakura found herself quite annoyed that Kabuto was taking her injury as a chance to preach another lesson at her. She had thought she had made herself clear the last time he had tried this—she would not tolerate his regard of sadistic practices.

"Why must you be so frustrating Sakura-chan?" Sweaty hands brushed away the frizz forming at her temples, the reflection of his chakra lighting up her green eyes, "I only want a simple answer."

Sakura quelled the urge to give him a simpering smile and tell the little cockroach to choke on his own blood and shifted her gaze to the ceiling once more.

"We are here to test my pain tolerance." Sakura replied. Her blank voice echoed around the room and she felt Kabuto dip his fingers into the two-inch hole in her gut once more, poking and prodding and pinching once more.

"Very, very good my lovely." Was Kabuto's rather serpentine reply.

It was times like these when Sakura wondered why she had ever come here in the first place.

It was times like these when she remembered those happy years—

Naruto choking down ramen.

Sasuke glaring at another fangirl who dared approach him.

Kakashi patting her on the head and ruffling her curls.

And then she would suddenly remember, would always remember, the reasons why.

(That dark night—thick fingers, screaming, choked grunts of pain, _thosedyinggreeneyes_ —)

Kabuto's fingers roved over an exposed rib and Sakura flinched. Gray eyes locked onto a pale face and a disturbing grin rose to Kabuto's face. Dragging his fingernail across the bone, creating that _scratch, scratch, stratch_ that Sakura so hated, she took another deep breath and focused on something other than the pain.

The way that her hair smelled, freshly clean, of lemons and watermelon, the way that her hands clenched or how sweat ran down her temple.

(Anything to get her mind off that scritch scratch scritch scratch.)

"Well done Sakura-chan. You will almost be better than me by the time we are done here."

Sakura did not forget his use of the word _almost_.

She would be getting a summons from Orochimaru again, this time, spelling more disaster than a two-inch hole carving into her gut.

As Sakura closed her eyes, she imagined her mother's warm hugs and those nice bentos at the Konoha general store that she loved.

A mad giggle filled the silence and Sakura tightened her jaw against Kabuto's chakra-enforced fingers ripping apart her chest cavity.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

Naruto was worried. He had seen Sasuke's unfocused eyes and shifting feet on the way over to the base. Naruto knew that he would be worried about her.

He knew Sakura and Sasuke had some sort of—something when they were younger. He remembered all too well: Sakura's gentle smiles, how Sasuke curled her hair around his fingers when they went on missions telling her stories in a low voice and watching how her lips curled upwards. He remembered the way Sakura would throw herself in front of Sasuke, her eyes dark and stormy when they faced down both Gaara and Zabuza.

But now, as he stared at Sasuke's troubled eyes and how his teammate sheathed and unsheathed his kunai, he wondered if it had ever been _more_ for him.

Because Naruto knew, if anything, that Sakura liked to touch.

But Sasuke did not.

Which is how Naruto knew that Sasuke cared more than he let on.

"We're going to rest here for the night,"Yamato said quietly, slipping into a clearing and erecting a small cabin fit for four people.

Sai followed the jonin, his eyes appraising the structure of the house with a strange sort of curiosity.

"Teme."Naruto called out, yanking Sasuke out of his thoughts.

"What, dobe." Sasuke answered, picking up his pack and sliding it over his shoulder.

He hesitated. " Do you think she'll—"

"I don't know." Sasuke cut him off, eyes turning hard.

Naruto sighed. Sasuke was always rather touchy on the subject of Sakura's defection to Sound and they had never really talked about it, except for that one time after they had tried to go after her and gotten their asses kicked.

By her.

Repeatedly.

"She could, you know." Naruto said as they stood, glaring at each other across the clearing. "She could be there—waiting for us, knowing that we would show up—"

"The traitor—"

"She's not a traitor!" Naruto yelled, grabbing Sasuke by his collar and slamming him in the nearest tree. "She's _Sakura!"_

Sasuke glared and pushed him off. "What do you call someone who just _left_ us?"

"Left us?" And Naruto would curse his loose mouth later but, "Or left you?"

Sasuke's eyes immediately turned cold and guarded, a snarl turning his face into an ugly grimace. "Don't you dare."

Naruto swallowed nervously. "I know you felt something for her."

Sasuke was silent, glaring at him, his fists tightening.

"I know that she—"

"She left." Sasuke spat, "She left, she made her choice—"

"Then why are you here?" Naruto shouted, avoiding the punch Sasuke threw. "Why do you still keep that note—"

Sasuke stopped dead in his tracks, eyes widening. "How do you know about that."

He looked away.

"Naruto, tell me _now_ , how do you know about that."

"I saw it in your pocket in the hospital." Naruto said slowly. "And also, Itachi told me."

Sasuke trembled and for one clashing moment, Naruto thought he was going to throw another punch, this time his fist blazing with chidori.

But instead, his teammate and oldest friend stormed away, his hands in his pockets.

Naruto just watched.

 _Sakura-chan…do you even know how much you broke him?_

* * *

Enjoy! I'm going to try and update this story more often, I've just been a little busy. Tell me your thoughts if you wish!


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

Sasuke knew he should've just ignored Naruto the moment he opened his stupid blabbermouth.

But the second he'd started talking about _her,_ Sasuke had to stay and listen.

She and Naruto had had a deep friendship, both relying on each other so much that often Sasuke didn't even really fit in the picture. It was only when she left—defected, he reminded himself—that they began to evolve into something more than just two broken little boys with a chip on their shoulders.

And her leaving did that.

He was thankful, in a strange cruel way, that she did. Because he knew that if she hadn't he would have kept on watching Naruto with disgust and prejudice, ignoring Itachi's quiet disappointment and frustrations.

But he also hated it sometimes.

He hated that he had to rely on Naruto when he had had _Sakura._

Sweet, kind, calm Sakura.

The girl who looked at him and saw things that he didn't even see in himself. The girl who smiled when she wanted, the girl who never let anything or anyone get her down.

"Stupid." He cursed the dark night. "I'm so stupid."

 _Why did you leave, Sakura?_ He thought, hands tightening into fists as he glared at the sky. _Why was I not enough? Why was Konoha not enough?_

He let out a gusty breath.

"I'll find you." He promised. "I'll find you and you _will_ tell me, Sakura."

* * *

Tell me your thoughts, I love reading your reviews :) Thank you all so much for reading! Hope you're enjoying my story!


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

Sakura awoke when the door creaked open.

Her legs were still burning from the workout yesterday due to Orochimaru's frustrations. She kept her breathing calm, not daring to alert the…visitor…that she was awake and ready.

"Haruno Sakura." The voice came from the doorway and in a flash, Sakura was at his throat, a kunai at his jugular.

Dark eyes, so similar to the ones she'd grown up with, looked down at her blankly. Sickly pale skin gleamed in the low candlelight.

"Hello, acolyte." Sakura grinned viciously, liking the way the boy squirmed under her grip.

"Traitor." The boy told her firmly, eyes still trained on her kunai. "How have you been?"

" _Wonderful._ " Sakura spat.

They watched each other for a minute; each taking in their exhausted eyes and the way both their mouths trembled in the low light. And then Sakura threw herself at him and he caught her, his nose breathing in the scent of her hair, soaked in iron and sweat.

"So they've finally come." Sakura whispered as she tugged him closer.

"Yes," He breathed into her ear, running a hand up and down her spine. His fingers trembled and Sakura pretended not to notice.

 _One more minute,_ she told herself resolutely, relishing in the feeling of someone pressed up against her. She had missed human touch. She had missed slow, gentle movements against her skin, filling her up with love and affection.

She had missed _her team._

"Do your part, then, acolyte." She told him quietly.

"Don't call me that, traitor." He whispered back.

Sakura grinned and moved away quickly as her room exploded, the walls flattened by the shockwaves. She makes sure to swipe across his ribs with a kunai, not daring to acknowledge the way he bit his tongue in agony.

 _He forgets I am an assassin_ , she thought, shaking her head, _he forgets I can't help but go for the kill._

"See you on the flip side." She winks. He stares after her, yearning. "Make sure to get in a good hit. Want to make it believable, after all."

And then she is gone, all that is left of her is the smell of iron and blood and destruction.

Sai sinks to his knees and waits for someone to find him.

* * *

You guys don't even know how weird it is to find my stories online and have people favorite it and follow it and everything! Ack. Anyways, I'm trying to finish this story because why not? I like this AU and concept. Hoping that you all enjoyed these chapters. Thank you for reading and tell me your thoughts if you wish!


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

Naruto grabbed Sai off the floor, eyes hard and furious.

The boy didn't bother to jerk at his touch.

"What did you _do._ " The boy spat.

It is the first time Sai has seen Naruto so angry.

Sai wanted to smile— _everything passionate has to do with you, Sakura._

"I had a mission." And that's when he began to lie.

* * *

She stood above them, her hair fluttering in the wind, eyes trailed on something none of them could see.

Sasuke couldn't really breathe as he gazed up into her face.

 _She looks the same. She moves the same._

Seeing Sakura—seeing Sakura should not have been like this. It should have been Sasuke yelling at her, Naruto grabbing her arms and pinning her to the floor, Sai slipping the chakra-manacles around her wrist and Yamato dragging her back home. Seeing Sakura should not have been her, standing above them, a strange gleam in her eyes and a katana strapped to her back.

When a curl of hair unraveled itself from the high ponytail, his fingers itched to move it away. Sakura had always hated having hair on her neck.

As if his thoughts were realized, she batted the offending curl away with a swipe of her fingers.

Sasuke couldn't breathe.

 _She is the same._

"Hello." Her voice was steady and calm, her green, green eyes focused on Naruto.

Sasuke wanted her to look at _him and only him._

"Sakura-chan—"Naruto trailed off. It seemed that even the dobe didn't have anything to say at Sakura's calm eyes and steady hands.

She wasn't like she was supposed to be. She was supposed to be hardened and cruel and insane from her time here. She was supposed to be saved by them so she would finally love them again.

"Haruno Sakura, we have come to return you to Konohagakure. Will you come peacefully?" Yamato asked in a tense voice.

Sasuke itched to grab her and sit down somewhere, to sit and ask and cry and scream and yell at her. With her.

Sakura cocked her head and the long ponytail slid over her shoulder, the dusty pink gleaming in the midday sun. Her eyes trailed over their forms; Sasuke standing at the edge of the clearing, Sai right behind Naruto, the pale boy's hand gripping his own katana, Yamato standing, his hands already starting a jutsu sequence, the closest to Sakura. Naruto, of course, stood in the center, eyes forward and focused.

"I'm afraid not. I have other engagements." Sakura's smile was pure politeness and it made Sasuke want to scream.

To throw up.

To _die._

 _Why,_ he bellowed inside his head, _Why are you the same?_

Naruto's determination would not be stumped because the boy began to yell. "Sakura-chan, we can understand if you tell us! Why you left, that is. Just _please_ , _please_ come home! We need you—I need you."

Sasuke's eyes burned red as the telltale emotion of affection became apparent in his voice.

They would be having a talk later on.

Preferably with Sakura walking with them, chakra sealed off and smiling.

But Sakura remained unmoved. Green eyes narrowed and then the girl—the girl he'd spent his best years with—sprang up in the air, twisting to land right in front of him.

Sasuke couldn't move as he felt the warmth of her body close to him. Sasuke couldn't move as green eyes twinkled with mirth, a strange, nostalgic smile tugging at her lips. Sasuke couldn't move as she came closer, standing on her tip toes, her mouth brushing his ear.

Yamato tensed.

Her lips brushed the shell of his ear.

Heat spiked in his veins.

"Did you get my note?"

And then Sasuke can move. Rage slithered onto his face and he hurled kunai after kunai at her, nearly screaming in frustration when she just smiled and moved out of the way. It was as if she was dancing around him, not bothering to take him seriously as he tried to catch her in genjutsu, traps and whatever.

"Sakura." He growled. "Stop this."

For a moment, Sasuke thought he saw a keen current of loss spark behind her eyes.

But it was replaced by a blank slate and then Sakura was at Naruto's throat.

Sai stood, sweating, as he blocked the katana strike.

Naruto's eyes were wide.

Sasuke couldn't breathe as he lurched forward. Sakura was his everything but Naruto had stood by him. He couldn't let her kill his best friend.

"Nice block." Sakura's smile was wide and Sai—Sasuke tripped as he saw—grinned back at her.

"Traitor." The pale boy acknowledged.

"Acolyte." Sakura spat back.

And then Yamato was rushing at Sakura and the girl flipped to the side, swiping at Sai's cheek and Sasuke watched as blood creeped down his chin and stained his throat. The wood-user slammed his fingers together as he urged his jutsu to go faster and cage Sakura.

A shadow blocked the sun from their view.

Sasuke looked up just as Orochimaru grabbed Sakura's collar.

"Well _hello_ , younglings." The Sannin smirked, a tongue slithering out and licking dried and cracked lips. "I take you are happy to see your ex-teammate."

"She's _still_ our teammate, bastard!" Naruto bellowed, fists tightening.

Sasuke didn't nod his head because his eyes were fixed on Sakura's. She stared back at him, winking.

He wanted to hurl.

He just wanted her _back._

 _Please,_ he begged, _let her come back to us. To me._

"I'm afraid," The Sannin tugged Sakura closer, his arm sliding around her tiny waist, hand cupping her hip in a way that had Sasuke wanting to retch. "That we have places to be. Engagements to pursue."

And then they vanished.

All that remained of Sakura was a fraught smile and a lock of hair, drifting in the wind.

* * *

They landed in another base and Sakura stumbled as they made contact with the cool floor.

He grabbed her throat, heaving her upwards and slamming her against the door. His golden eyes stared into hers, tongue slithering out to probe at her throat once more.

"Why," He started off fairly calmly, "Did you speak to them?"

Sakura pretended she didn't want to murder the man who held her life in his own two dead hands and a sickening grin spread across her face. She leaned down, not caring when his thumbs dug in the hollow of her throat or how his tongue lapped at the curse mark.

"Nostalgia kills. I wanted to see if that was applicable to me, master." She waited with baited breaths, her heartbeat slow and calm, to see if he would accept that answer.

They stared at each other for a small eternity.

Golden eyes bored into green and then she was released. Her throat burned with the effort of speaking and the way he had dug his thumbs into her skin. She held in her heaving coughs as he stared at her, looking for cracks in her armor.

"Never forget," He hissed, once again bending down to face her, "That you are _mine._ "

Sakura grinned at him, pretending to be the lovesick fool. "Of course."

As he walked away Sakura dug her nails so deep into her skin that blood dripped onto her pants.

* * *

Tell me your thoughts! Enjoy :)


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

Naruto doesn't speak all the way back to Konoha and Sai doesn't really know what to think.

He has always been a ninja—solider—and to watch these bright individuals, even the ever-burning, ever-furious Sasuke slowly wane away, he thinks about what he has sacrificed for green, green eyes and gentle hands.

Sakura was the one who pulled him out of the fire, teaching him slowly, gently. Sakura was the one who helped him get on his feet, understand how people worked, how to maneouver in society. Sakura was the one who danced to her own beat, desperately trying to outrun time.

She was the one Sai was loyal to, more than the spider in the corner, the hat on the mantle and he waited for the day where she could walk into Konoha free, when people would realize her sacrifice.

And yet, as Sai notices the gleam in Sasuke's eyes—the fervor the once bloomed brightly—slowly disappear, he wonders if he should open his mouth and say—

 _She never wanted to. You have to believe she never wanted to._

But as Sai sees Naruto's tight mouth and white knuckles he knows those boys will never give up on her.

"Just wait spiderlily." He whispers so quietly it's only a movement of his lips, "You will get your vengeance."

Yamato glances sharply at him and Sai lets a knowing gleam sharpen his dull eyes.

* * *

"You failed." Tsunade's voice is hard, her jaw set into an unrelenting edge.

Sasuke barely heard her, his eyes trailing over the way Sai seemed to be having a silent conversation with Yamato, the elder of the two looking too pale.

There was an undercurrent of…something in the air after Sai had met Sakura.

( _After Sasuke realizes that he had tried to assassinate her and she had blown up the entire base.)_

( _After Sasuke realizes that Sakura has an entire hidden agenda—starting from the moment she was bitten with the curse mark—instead of him.)_

That foreboding feeling the day before arriving at Orochimaru's base, the moment where he had stared into Sai's blank, blank eyes and felt an eerie feeling that coated his entire body, returns as he focuses on the way Yamato stares, pale-faced, as if he's seen a ghost and Sai's eyes hold a knowing gleam, one that Sasuke doesn't trust for a minute.

"Granted, I didn't think you would succeed." Tsunade continues, her eyes trailing over Naruto's slumped frame and tearful eyes. "But…I hoped for your sake, that you would."

"Yamato." Sasuke watches the man tense before drawing himself up, as if coiling himself into a pile of live nerves, ready to strike, "Stats on Haruno Sakura, now please."

Sasuke closes his eyes, ignoring the burning lump in his throat as he thinks of the blade that's pressed against Naruto's throat, and hopes that somehow Yamato will spare the words he knows will destroy every opportunity Sakura has of ever returning to Konoha.

"Haruno Sakura is dangerous and unstable. Not only does she show initial signs of psychological trauma, she is also erratic and has a cruel side to her undertones of playfulness. It isn't obvious yet, if she holds any lingering attachment for her teammates, but it is obvious that she does hold some sort of…resentment or vendetta. Due to her unknown goals and nature, I believe her status should be updated to S-Class missing-nin."

Naruto's Adam's apple bobs, throat contracting and Sasuke's chakra spikes so violently it leaves the office breathless.

"Haruno Sakura is now an international S-Class missing-nin." Tsunade says almost gently and Sasuke curses the day Sakura decided to take matters into her own hands and leave him.

* * *

It is nearly a week later, after countless trashed training grounds and angry snarls, that Itachi tells him to go visit the hospital. His older brother looks at him with those calm gray eyes and it is in their reflection that he sees himself—raging, erratic, _resentful_.

(" _You cannot find her if you continue to act like a whining child, Sasuke. Take control of your options—make sure she comes home."_ )

The next morning, Sasuke heads to the hospital, eyes heavy under the strain of his quiet anger.

"Hi, Mrs. Haruno." Sasuke said quietly, unloading the backpack on his shoulder.

The elder woman smiled softly, lifting her gaze from the book she was reading. Tucking a stray strawberry-blonde hair behind her ear, Haruno Suki gazed at him with green eyes and a gentle smile.

(Sasuke pretends he doesn't always flinch when he looks into Suki-san's eyes. He pretends he doesn't come here to see something—some _one_ similar to Sakura just to get closer to her.)

"Back again are we?" Suki smiled merrily. "What rations do you have for me today?"

Sasuke's lips quirked upwards and the older woman chuckled.

"I got some of that chocolate you like. They're selling pineapples on the end of your street, and I know that you—" _eat them because Sakura did,_ "Like them a lot so I got you some of those too."

Handing over the valuables, Sasuke dragged over a stool and sat close to the hospital bed, observing her. She hadn't aged much from the pictures in Sakura's bedroom. Her skin was still relatively wrinkle-free, her eyes still retaining that youthful spark, the gleam washing away any signs of age.

 _She looks so much like her._

Itachi called it torturing himself despite his quiet acceptance.

Naruto called it reminiscing.

Sasuke called it both.

They're silent for a couple of minutes; Suki, enjoying the treats Sasuke brings for her and Sasuke, staring at the mother of the girl he—the girl he _somethings_ —eyes trained on her hair.

"We found her." Sasuke doesn't intend it to be a whisper but it comes out that way.

Suki drops the chocolate.

The elder woman's hands trembled and for one moment, Sasuke saw a sheen of tears in those green, green eyes.

"And?" Suki asks quietly, turning her eyes to his. Her throat works and Sasuke can see how her fingers shook on the covers. "How is she?"

Sasuke licked his dry lips, unsure how to begin. "She grew. But not much."

A wet laugh escaped Suki, "Of course. We were always on the short side in my family. Her father, bless him, was where she got her curls though."

Sasuke gave the woman a soft smile.

"Does her hair still curl?"

"Yeah." His voice is breathy but he continues, despite the pain at the images that flash in his brain. "She still has the frizz she hates. And I'm sure it would be a bushy mess if she took it out of the ponytail."

Suki's smile was a teary mess and Sasuke tried not to shift uncomfortably when she blotted her tears out with the corner of her hospital gown.

"Oh, I'm so sorry Sasuke. I know you wanted to bring her home. I know you still love her very much."

His heart jolted in his chest and memories ( _her smile, straight teeth, warmth_ —her laugh so kind and beautiful) flitted through his mind and the edges of his mouth turned down.

"She betrayed us." The words slip out of his mouth too fast and he bites down on his tongue to keep himself from screaming his rage.

 _Because she had looked so untouchable, standing there, her hair in the wind. Because she had left them—him without a thought and they were still trying to recover from that blow._

Suki's eyes watered but her mouth hardened and Sasuke knew he had committed a grave error. Ever since the day Sakura had left, Haruno Suki was adamant in her belief that her daughter was innocent—that Sakura was an inquisitive child, but not a dangerous one.

"She is not—"

"Mrs. Haruno." A nurse called from the doorway. The woman's brown eyes looked at Suki's tears and how Sasuke's face had turned pale in his anger and cleared her throat, shifting uncomfortable. "Your preparation for your surgery is coming up. Visiting hours are over until a day after the operation."

Sasuke's eyes swung towards the elder woman and barely heard the soft pattering of the nurse's feet as she walked down the corridor to prep the operating room.

"I'll be here when you come out." Sasuke tells her with a quiet, pained smile.

Suki nodded her green eyes hardening as he rose from his seat.

"Sasuke," Haruno Suki called from the hospital room, just as he was about to turn the corner and leave. "Don't forget that my daughter never does anything without a reason."

Green eyes so similar to her daughter's burned into his, her mouth a straight line.

Sasuke nodded his head slowly.

 _(He remembered her warmth_ —"Did you get my note?— _with a curl of her mouth.)_

( _He remembered that undercurrent of sharp loss—wait for me, I'll come home, I'll come home—and the familiar body swinging familiar fists.)_

( _He remembered Itachi's eyes—shocked, pinwheels, spinning, regretful—on the day that Sasuke comes stumbling home, eyes blank, the day Sakura left Konoha, leaving a trail of bloodied bodies behind._

 _No one spoke of the fact that Sasuke, Naruto and the rest of the Rookie Nine were untouched.)_

He had a lot of thinking to do.

* * *

Updates, my friends! I hope you all tell me what you think, I love reading your reviews, they give me so much inspiration :)


End file.
